Air cleaner for internal combustion engines



Jan. 19, 1932. H, :DRIDGE 1,842,082

AIR CLEANER FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed Jan. 23, 1930 Patented Jan. 19, 1932 UNITED STATES HABTWELL L. EDRID GE, F MINNEAPOLIS, H INNTESOTA AIR CLEANER FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Application filed January 28, 1980. Serial- No. 432,725.

This invention relates to an improved air cleaner for use in connection with internal combustion engine carburetors and, generally stated, the-invention consists of the novel de- Vices and combination of devices hereinafter described and defined in the claims. An object of this invention is the provision of a very efiicient and relatively inexpensive air cleaner for internal combustion engines that will not retard the velocity of air entering the carburetor intake of the engine. This and other objects will be brought out clearly in the specification, claims and drawings.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate theinvention, like characters indicate like arts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view of an internal combustionengine and illustrating my air cleaner in connection therewith;

Fig. 2 is a front end elevation, of the air cleaner; and

Fig. 3 is an axial section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, some parts being shown in full and some parts being broken away.

The motor block of the internal combustion engine, diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 1, is indicated as an entirety by the numeral 4, the radiator of its cooling system by the numeral 5, the coolingJ fan by the numeral 6, the intake manifold y the numeral 7, and the carburetorb the numeral 8, which carburetor is rovi ed with a forwardly opening air inta e neck 9. 1

The casing of the air cleaner, indicated as an entirety by the numeral 10, is annular in cross-section and is open at its front end and is provided at its rear end with a rearwardly extended co-axially aligned sleeve 11. Axially centered in the front portion of the'casing 10 with its apex pointing forward and substantially aligned with the open front end of the casing is a conical baflie12, the base of which baflle is of less diameter thanthe surrounding portion of the casing. The space between the conical baflle, 12 and the surrounding casing 10 afi'ords an annular air in-- take 13 of quite great area. In this annular air intake extending between the conical bafile 12 and the casing 10 is an annular series of circumferentially spaced deflecting blades for causing incoming air to take up a whirl in motion.

rojecting from the casing through and beyond the sleeve 11 is a clean air outlet tube 15. The portion of this outlet tube 15 that is within the sleeve 11 has an outside diameter of considerably less than the inside diameter of the surrounding sleeve 11 and is centered therein so as to afford an annular dust. disno charge passage 16 therebetween that is closed near the end of the sleeve 11 bya spacing and retaining collarl'l'. The sleeve 11 of the casing 10 and the clean air-outlet tube 15 are each soldered, welded or otherwise secured to the collar 17 and are thereby held together as a single unit.. The inner portion of the outlet tube 15 inward of the sleeve 11 is a flare toward its open inner end, which inner end is of approximately the same but of not greater 7 diameter than the base of the conical deflector 12. The open inner end of the clean air outlet tube 15 is directly behind but spaced from the base of the conical deflector 12 to afford a free passage for clean air from the annular air inlet 13 to the clean air outlet tube. 15. Depending from the under rear portion of the sleeve-like casin extension 11 and opening into the annular ust discharge passage 16 is a dust discharge spout 18. This ischarge spout 18 opens into a porous dust receptacle 19 comprising a fabric bag or sack 20 reinforced at 1ts insld'e to keep the same from collapsing by means of a wire netting or screen 21. I

. The open upper end of thefabric sack is telescoped over the open end of the discharge spout 18 and is detachably retained thereon by means of a clamping band or the like 22.

When the air cleaner is in working position, the projected rear end portion of its clean air outlet tube 15 is telescoped into the. forwardly opening end of the carburetor in- 1 take neck 9, as shown in Fig. 3, so that the end of the carburetor neck 9 strikes. and is stopped by the collar 17. The cleaner is normally'removably held in place by means of a set-screw or the like 23 that has screw-thread ed en agement with the carburetor neck 9.

It1s importantto notethat the annular ill air intake of the air cleaner 0 ens forwardly and is directl subject to t e air passed t rough the ra iator caused by forward movement of the vehicle and the action of the fan 6, directly in the blast of which fan said annular air intake 13 is located. It is also important to note that the area of the annu-' lar air intake13 is greater than the combined area of the clean air outlet tube 15 and the annular dust outlet 16. It will now be apparent that when the cleaner is in use, air will enter the casing 10 through the annular opening 13 at relatively high velocity due to the rapid rearward movement of air caused by the movement of the vehicle and the action of the fan and in suflicient volume due to the size or area of the annular air intake 13 to supply the carburetor intake neck 9 through the clean air outlet tube 15, and maintain a pressure within the casing that will at all times cause dust-laden air to be moved rapid- 1; through the annular dust outlet 16 and ust outlet spout 18 to the dust collecting bag or sack 19. The dust will beretained in the collector 19 and'the air will be blown rapidly therethrough to the atmosphere.

Air entering the annular air intake 13 will strike the annular series of circumferentially spaced 'deflectin blades 14 and be caused to take up a rapi y whirling motion and due to this whirling motion and aided by the conical deflector 12, dust or heavier than air particles carried by the incoming air will be thrown outward by centrifugal force to the sides of the casing 10 and said dust will follow the sides ,of said casing to the annular air dust outlet 16 in spiral rearward movement and will be passed from said dust outlet 16 through the spout 18 to the dust collector 19. The air, near the inner portions of the annular air inlet 13, close to the conical deflector 12, will be clean or in other words will have had the heavier than air particles separated therefrom by centrifugal action and this air will pass into the flaring inner end of the clean air outlet tube 15 and be passed through the carburetor to the intake manifold 7 and thence to the en;

ne. i eated in air intakes of internal combustion engines is great especially at high speeds and that it is detrimental both to the maximum speed and efliciency of the engine to place anything in the air intake that will cause additional resistance and tend to raise this vacuum. With my air cleaner, however, air is always supplied to the interior of the cleaner casing 10 in suflioient volume to at all times maintain at least atmospheric pressure within the casing and usually this pressure will be above atmospheric pressure and will, therefore, increase the efliciency of the engine especially at high speed by delivering the clean air to the carburetor intake under pressure and thereby decreasing the resistance It is well-known that the vacuum.

and lowerin the partial vacuum in said engine air inta e.

By flaring the inner end portion of the clean air outlet tube 16 so that its extreme open end is a proximately the same diameter as the base 0 the conical deflector 12, incoming air close to the conical deflector 12 is only caused to change its course of travel to a relatively small degree in order to enter the open end of the clean air outlet tube 15 and in this manner the least possible resistance to the clean air is produced. Dust once thrown to the side of the casing by centrifugal force caused by the deflecting blades 14 is'very rapidly carried away by the rapid movement of air which is present under operating con 'ditions through the annular dust outlet 16,

spout 18 and into and through the dust receptacle 19.

The pores in the dust receptacle. 19 are fine enough so that the dust will not be passed therethrough but will permit, due to the relatively large area of said receptacle, a very rapid movement of air therethrough.

What I claim is:

' 1. An air cleaner comprising an annular casing that is open at its front end and having an axial opening at its rear end portion, a conical baflie concentrically located within the front ortion of said casing with its apex pointing orward and its base being of less diameter than the surrounding portion of said casing to afford an annular air inlet between said baifle and said casing, an annular series of circumferentially spaced deflecting blades in said annular air inlet and extending between said conical baflle and said casing, a clean air outlet tube extended axially from said casing through said opening in the back thereof and its open inner end terminating close to the back of the base of said conical baflie, and said clean air outlet tube being of less diameter than the opening in the back of the casing at its point adjacent said opening to afl'ord an annular dust discharge passage surrounding said tube, and a porous dust collector arranged to receiveall of the dust laden air passed through the annular dust discharge passage and retain the dust and permit free discharge of air.

2. An air cleaner comprising an annular casing provided at one end with an annular air inlet and at its opposite end with an axial opening, deflecting means in said annular inlet for causing heavier than air particles carried by incoming air to be thrown outwardly of said casing, said casing being tapered from its intermediate portion toward said axial o ening, a clean air outlet tube extended axlally through said opening for receiving clean air from the central portion of the casing and being spaced from the sides of said opening to afford an annular dust outlet surrounding said tube throu h which annular dust outlet dust laden air ollowing diameter than the surrounding the sides of said casing will pass and a porous dust collecting bag arranged to receive the dust laden air passed throu h the annular dust outlet and to retain t e dust and permit air to be exhausted therethrough.

3. An air cleaner com rising an annular casing that is open at its ii-ont end and being contracted at its rear end and terminating in a rearwardly extended coaxial sleeve, a conical baflle concentrically located within the front portion of the casing with its apex pointing forward and its base being of less rtion of said casing to afiord an annular air inlet between said baflle and said casing, an annular series of circumferentially spaced deflecting blades in said annular air inlet and extendsaid casing being expanded toward its open I ing between said conical bafie and said casing, and a clean air outlet tube extended axially from said casing through said sleeve at the rear of the casing, the portion of said outlet tube within said sleeve being spaced from said sleeve to afiord an annular dust discharge passage between said tube andsaidsleeve and the portion of said sleeve withm end and terminating in close relation to the base of the conical bafile in an open end of substantially the same diameter as the baseof said conical bafile.

In testimon whereof I aflix my signature.

H RTWELL L EDRIDGE. 

